Eli Tomac makes 450 debut

By Rob Geiger

ATLANTA - Eli Tomac will take the final step in his professional evolution Saturday at the Georgia Dome when he makes his debut in the top tier of motocross aboard a GEICO Honda CRF 450R.

"I'm fired up and excited to race this 450," Tomac said. "I don't think I could have picked a better place to make my debut because Atlanta is always a packed house and the fans are loud. I love that crazy feeling you get in that building.

Tomac further added.

"It'll be fun racing against some different guys and this also will be the first time in my career that I'll be running in the east in Supercross, so I'm anxious to see how the tracks are set-up."

Tomac will contest four 450SX races while the tour is in the east - Atlanta, St. Louis, Daytona, Fla., and Indianapolis - before returning to 250SX when the west series completes its final three races in Seattle, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. He currently ranks second in the 250SX West standings after winning four of the first six races. Tomac is the defending 250SX West champion.

"I love the new Honda 450," Tomac said. "I rode it at the Monster Energy Cup and came away in third place overall, so I hope I'll be able to contest for some podium finishes in these four races. The 250 class is very fast and a lot of times, we're running the same lap times as the 450s, so I expect to feel fairly comfortable right from the start. I really can't wait to run 450s full time. I'm ready."

Saturday's racing action will be shown live beginning at 5:30 p.m., on SPEED TV. The 450SX race will repeat at 9 p.m.